It is about time that this was re-discovered...once again. For those interested, check out the Model of Academic Motivation and Competence (MACM) that I proposed during the early days of NCLB. The model, reports, PPT slides, etc. can be found under the Beyond IQ section of Research and Reports section at the MindHub. Other scholars in school psychology have been hammering away on this broad and important domain for years (Reynold's SMALSI instrument; Diperna and Elliott's ACES instrument and model, to name but a few)

An interesting research synthesis that helps sort out the positive impact of different types of psychological mediation on different outcomes. I am particularly interested in the support for meditation techniques that emphasis control of attention (e.g., focusing on breathing; a tone; etc.) given the parallels I have written about with regard to the Interactive Metronome neurotechnology.

The slides in this post are preliminary findings and formative ideas that are going thru a period of incubation and will hopefully eventuate in an eventual presentation and manuscript. The material is being developed to help flesh out intelligent selective referral-focused assessment for RTI treatment resisters and to provide information to help implement the various third-method consistency/concordance models for SLD. I believe the figures speak largely for themselves if one studies them enough. Familiarity with the complete set of WJ III cognitive tests (Diagnostic Supplement included) is helpful as it will allow a person to decipher the test name abbreviations. Also, one needs to be familiar with the general concepts of third method consistency/concordance SLD models (see Flanagan & Fiorello, 2010). Also, one needs to be familiar with the CHC nomenclature codes to understand what each test is classified as measuring.

A visual representation of the third method SLD models as presented by Flanagan & Fiorello, 2010) is below. [Click on image to enlarge]

These results are derived from my art+science exploratory data analysis of the WJ III norm data guided by the findings from McGrew and Wendling (2010). Analyses included (a) multiple regression prediction of two reading and two math achievement subdomains (only two are featured here) with selected subsets of WJ III cognitive tests (using backward elimination of variables one-at-a-time; many eliminated tests re-entered at end to insure they were still not significant predictors that should have been retained in the final model), (b) calculation of all cognitive test g-loadings via first unrotated principal component across ages 6-18 years, and (c) multidimensional scaling (MDS--Guttman Radex model) of the complete set of WJ III cognitive predictors.

Visual graphic summaries are presented in hopes of stimulating thoughts about how these presentation methods might be used to allow examiners to engage in intelligent selective referral focused assessment decision-making grounded in data (but the numbers are minimized on purpose), theory, and logic.

Conflict of interest warning. I am a coauthor of the WJ III.

Click on images to enlarge.

Conceptual link between third method approaches and above slides follows.

MDS illustrative model.

Conceptual link between the three preceding slides and third method SLD models

The talk is extraordinary for the clarity (and humor) with which he repeatedly illustrates the powerful ways in which the mind filters and shapes what we call information. He discusses how this relates to the challenge of communicating science in a way that might stick.

Please carve out the time to watch his slide-free, but image-rich, talk. It's a shorthand route to some of the insights described in Kahneman's remarkable book, "Thinking, Fast and Slow" (I'm a third of the way through).

Here's the video of the talk (which is "below the fold" because it's set up to play automatically):

Anyone can access the most downloaded articles of this journal for free. Click here

Subscribers to a Springer publication are entitled to read the full-text articles online in SpringerLink. For registration information please contact your librarian or send us an e-mail: In the Americas: springerlink-ny@springer.com In all other countries: springerlink@springer.com

About Me

Dr. Kevin McGrew is Director of the Institute for Applied Psychometrics (llc). Additional information, including potential conflicts of interest resulting from commercial test development or other consultation, can be found at The MindHub(TM; http://www.themindhub.com ). General email contact is iap@earthlink.net.